


baby, just say yes

by geckointhegarbage



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Motorcycles, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Hasegawa Langa, Oblivious Kyan Reki, Rivals to Lovers, Road Trips, Street Racing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29484300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckointhegarbage/pseuds/geckointhegarbage
Summary: reki relies on illegal street racing to feel like he's worth something. langa decides that he wants to change that. road trips, family, and copious amounts of coffee just come with the deal.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki, Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Comments: 50
Kudos: 215





	1. we were both young when i first saw you

“Reki, can you hurry the fuck up?” Miya drums his hands on the coffee shop counter. “You take forever with these!”

Reki turns around just to roll his eyes. “These are complicated orders, dude! People keep trying to order complicated drinks here while I’m literally just one guy.”

“Okay? Not my problem. I don’t want to get a ticket for parking right outside again,” Miya groans. He continues to watch as Reki messily pours the iced coffee into a plastic cup before wiping the sides with a towel and snapping a lid on top. He adds the drink to a large array of other drinks in a cardboard tray. 

“There!” Reki announces, taking a few proud steps back. “All done. In record time too!” Miya’s annoyed expression tells him that he does not need to look at the clock to know that that is a lie. 

Miya grabs the drinks in one hand and swings his lanyard of keys with his other. “All hail the mighty barista Reki.” 

Reki sticks his tongue out at him as Miya walks out the door, jumping into his mom’s minivan and taking off down the busy Manhattan street. That kid sure has a lot of sass for someone only 16, working minimum wage as a coffee delivery boy and using his mom’s minivan as his only mode of transport. Though, Reki can’t say he’s any better. He was forced to take up his current job as a barista at the rickety old coffee shop to start paying off his loans for school. His parents were careful enough to have saved up money for him to be able to attend NYU in the States, but those funds aren’t lasting forever. It doesn’t help that he’s currently undeclared in his second year, the pressure growing on him to finally find something he’s interested in before his third year rolls around. 

Reki sighs, adjusting his blue patterned headband on his head before beginning to clean the coffee maker and counter. There aren’t any patrons in the shop towards closing, he’s come to find. The rush is during the mornings and afternoons, but most people aren’t so eager to grab a cup of coffee around six in the evening. 

As Reki wipes down the wooden counter, he hears the familiar jingle of the bell over the door, indicating that someone has just walked in. He throws the towel to the side and wipes his hands on his apron before approaching the cash register. 

“Hey, what can I g-.” Reki nearly chokes on air. The man in front of him is _pretty._ Yeah, not hot, not just mildly attractive, but _beautiful._ Seriously, Reki is about 96% sure he is being punked right now. Is this guy a model or something?

The man raises an eyebrow. “Uh? Sorry what was that?”

“What can I get you,” Reki stammers out. “You know, um. What’s your order?”

The man stares at the menu above Reki’s head for a moment, crystal blue eyes skimming over each word. “I’ll just do a large latte, thanks.”

Reki nods, maybe a little too vigorously, and types the order into the cash register. Then he grabs one of the medium paper cups and uncaps his Sharpie. “What name would that be under?”

“Langa,” the gorgeous stranger replies easily.

Reki nods again, feeling as though he’s a bit at a loss for words. _Longah_ , he writes in a quick scribble along the side. “That’ll be $3.50.”

Longah hands him a credit card and Reki is quick to swipe it. “You’re all set,” Reki says, backing up a few steps. “Go ahead and wait wherever, this shouldn’t take me too long.”

“Thanks, uh,” Lawnga squints at Reki’s smudged name tag, the letters practically unreadable besides the big “R”. 

“Reki,” Reki supplies. “My name’s Reki.”

_Fuck. Less talking, more brewing._

Lownga smiles softly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Thanks Reki.”

The coffee finishes brewing, then Reki begins to froth the milk. Suddenly, he realizes that his face is probably a bright red right now. He has a tendency to do that when he gets flustered. Shit. Hopefully Laynga didn’t notice. 

With careful hands, Reki pops the paper lid onto the cup and places it onto the counter. 

“Uh, latte for Langa?”

_Fuck. Was that a lot of words? He’s the only one in the shop so it could have been condensed to “Langa?” or something. God, he’s so stupid._

Lamga, who had been scrolling on his phone while he waited, smiled softly at Reki before taking his latte. 

“Thanks. Have a good evening, Reki.”

Reki returns the smile, not even trying to stop the soft look that takes over his face as he gets one more glance at the beautiful stranger. “You too, Langa.”

Lamb takes a sip from his latte as he walks out of the shop, the glass doors revealing he takes a left before disappearing from view. 

Reki exhales a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. “What the fuck?” he exclaims aloud to the empty shop. “There was literally no reason for him to be that pretty.”

He runs his fingers through his hair, making the messy waves even messier. With a deep breath, he returns to closing up the shop, wiping down the counters and tables, stacking the chairs, among other things before finally removing his apron and twisting the lock on the front door closed.

With a skip in his step, he walks one shop over to the tattoo shop Sialaluce _,_ where his two mentors work. The red neon sign reads “Closed”, but Reki confidently ignores it as he knocks on the door. 

“Reki?” Cherry’s voice asks from inside. 

“Who else would it be?” Reki responds, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. Reki can practically hear Cherry roll his eyes at the snarky remark before he hears the hardwood creak with approaching footsteps. The lock slides out of place and the door opens, revealing an already dressed Cherry Blossom. 

“Hey! You got ready without me!” Reki complains, pushing Cherry aside and waltzing into the shop. The flashing pink and green LED lights are the only thing illuminating the light marble countertops and black chairs. Joe sits on one of the chairs in the back, slumped over his phone. He doesn’t bother to look up when Reki comes in, just waving a hand in greeting. 

“Ugh, yeah, because you took forever,” Cherry says, shutting and locking the door. “Come around the back next time, I’ve told you this like a million times.”

Reki just shrugs, ignoring him. “Where’d I put my stuff last time?”

Again, Joe wordlessly points in a vague direction towards the back of the store, where cabinets are stacked on top of each other and barely closing over the sheer level of _stuff_ packed into them. 

“Thanks for your help, Joe,” Reki says sarcastically. He throws open the cabinet and digs around (much to Cherry’s protests) before pulling out his red Thrasher hoodie and a pair of black ripped jeans. A little more digging and he finds his worn black Vans. 

Cherry starts to grab the excess items that Reki had torn through and put them back in the cabinet as Reki runs to the bathroom to change. “Can we stop making such a mess of my cabinets, please?”

“No can do, Blossom!” Reki yells from the single stall bathroom, changing from his stained white polo and black slacks into streetwear. This is one of the best parts of his day, changing from his work clothes into his racing clothes. The shift always makes him feel electricity in his veins, the tiredness from a long day on his feet leaving him as he prepares for a night out racing. Racing is the one thing he would say he is good at. He and his (borrowed) BMW feel like one machine, one moving powerhouse that can destroy any competitor in its path. The feeling when he first raced with the help of Joe was one he will never forget, and one adrenaline rush he will keep chasing.

Reki pushes the door open with his shoulder, still pulling on and tying his left shoe. Cherry watches him clumsily pull it on, unimpressed. 

“You’re late, left my cabinet a mess, and have toilet paper stuck to your right shoe. There really is nothing you can’t do, huh, Reki?”

Reki looks down at his shoe, noticing the long piece of cheap toilet paper that had gotten stuck at the sole. “Shit.” He shuffles a few feet left, trying to push the toilet paper off, but only succeeding in moving it around a bit. He finally gets his left shoe tied and leans down to take off the toilet paper when he hears Joe’s muffled laugh.

Reki looks up, only to be met with Joe’s phone camera pointed directly at him and the owner of the phone stifling laughter. 

“Hey!” Reki exclaims, reaching out to smack the phone out of Joe’s hand. He misses, only causing Cherry to join in with laughter. Reki frowns, mumbling a long chain of curse words as he removes the toilet paper and throws it into the trash.

“Joe, you better fucking delete that,” Reki quips, crossing his arms.   
Joe shrugs. “Sorry dude. Already posted it.”

Reki gasps. “Rude! Why would you scar my reputation this way?”

“Not like you had a reputation to begin with, kiddo.”

“Hey, you know what, fu-”

Cherry interrupts, gently smacking them both on the backs of their heads. “We were already late before! Get going or I’ll leave without the two of you.” With that, Cherry grabs his keys from the counter and struts out the back door, leaving Joe and Reki to glare at each other for a few moments, before snatching up their own keys from the bowl on the counter and shoving each other in a desperate attempt to get to their cars first.

Reki makes it first, starting up the bright red BMW. The LED interior lights up with a gentle blue, the engine purring softly as Reki backs the car out from its parking spot and starts the short drive up to the Bronx. Joe is behind him in his own Lamborghini, honking obnoxiously at him as they pull out of the dreary parking lot. Reki simply sticks his hand out the window and flips him off.

The music playing throughout the car further enhances the exhilarating feeling. Reki hasn’t even started his race for the night, but the excitement for the night makes him incredibly excited for the moment he can bring the gas pedal to the floor. 

The windows roll down and Reki takes a deep breath of the cold air as he approaches his destination. A side street in the Bronx is the perfect location for “S”, the illegal street racing circuit that meets every season. Reki doesn’t know how long “S” has existed, but he does know that it made racing his passion. He had initially applied at Sialaluce to work as a receptionist, but when Joe and Cherry said they wouldn’t hire him because he was too “inexperienced, and a little crazy, to be honest”, they suggested he apply at the coffee shop next door. It ended up working out quite well, coffee being something Reki came to enjoy, becoming friends with Miya, and he still ended up talking with Joe and Cherry on occasion. They eventually invited him to “S”, Reki tagging along with them after his shift one evening.

It was love at first sight. The people, the cars, the _exhilaration_. Reki loved it all. Cherry definitely took notice of the way Reki’s eyes lit up at the sight of the nice cars and clothes, and after gaining Cherry’s trust, Cherry allowed Reki to borrow his red BMW when they went out racing. Reki didn’t own a car, relying on the subway to get him to work and back home, and as long as he was careful, Cherry didn’t have any qualms with Reki using the car.

Reki finally pulls into the street, already full of people and their cars. He parks it to the side and locks the doors before finding Cherry in the crowd. 

“Hey!” he practically yells, the combined voices of all the other people around them reaching astounding levels of noise, “What’s the lineup for tonight?”

Cherry leans down to reply, “You’re with Joe tonight. I’m sitting this one out.”

Reki nods, smiling to himself. Joe is definitely going to lose his mind when he finds out he's up against Reki, especially since Reki flipped him off on the way up here. Speaking of Joe-

He starts to scan through the crowd, looking for Joe’s tall figure and signature green hair. It doesn’t take long to find him. Joe, always the flirt, took off his shirt after parking, now angrily walking up behind Reki and Cherry. 

“You little bastard,” he says in a way of greeting Reki. “Rematch! That was totally unfair.”

“Well, I’m glad you want one. We’re both up tonight,” Reki replies casually. He eyes Cherry next to him, who had turned his head to say something to Joe but now had a sudden interest in the race that is about to begin.

The racers rev their engines in challenge, the bright decor on their cars reflecting off the pavement. The entire crowd holds their breath as a loudspeaker projects the voice of one of the “S” higher ups, “On my mark racers! 3, 2, 1! Go!” A buzzer sounds and in an instant the cars have taken off down the street. The smell of burned rubber is everywhere, along with the cheers and cries of the crowd as they encourage the racers. Once the racers turn a corner, each of their crews rely on dash cameras to tell them where the racer is. They speak quick instructions into earpieces, which the racer gets, and does their best to squander any attempts by the other racer to get ahead. The crowd can only wait in anticipation for the cars’ headlights on the other side of the road as they peel in from the race. 

Reki cheers with the rest of the crowd as the first racer pulls in. Their bright yellow Ferrari revs its engine in delight at the win, spinning a few doughnuts in the middle of the wide road in celebration. The second racer skids to a stop a few feet before the finish line (a badly painted white line on the ground), knowing that they have been seamlessly defeated. The racers exit their cars, and for a moment Reki starts to panic, as they both seem quite angry at each other. Sometimes fights do break out at these races. People do challenge others to races instead of fighting it out with fists, and if the outcome isn’t what they wanted, weapons can occasionally be drawn. No one has died yet, thankfully, but shots have been fired on several occasions. Reki holds his breath as the two racers approach each other…and tackle each other in a hug. He exhales. Thankfully, these two had been friends, not enemies. 

Cars aren’t the only thing you have to worry about at “S”. Other people and their ability to harm can be just as dangerous. 

Reki fiddles with the keys still in his palm, anxious for his race. He wants to feel the adrenaline pumping through his body, the soft leather of the steering wheel, and the unparalleled joy that comes with winning. Watching the other racers is fun, sure, but nothing compares to being behind the wheel, being in control of your own win. 

“What’d I miss?”

Reki jumps, so lost in thought that he didn’t see Miya appear behind him. “Oh my god, Miya! Never do that again,” Reki breathes. “You scared the shit out of me!”

Miya shrugs, pulling on his hoodie strings. “Whatever. So, what’d I miss?”

“ Yellow Ferrari and white Tesla. Ferrari won,” Reki summarizes. “Don’t know why Tesla thought he could take Ferrari, but they were friends so it was probably just for shits and giggles.”

Miya listens carefully, though his eyes are on the track as the next race has just begun. “Interesting. Are you racing tonight?”

“Yeah, against Joe. Can I count on you to help me from here?”

Miya grins devilishly. “Absolutely.”

Reki narrows his eyes. “You won’t lead me to a dead end like that one time, right?”

Miya punches his shoulder. “That was one time! Just let it go already!”

Reki laughs, pulling Miya into a headlock and ruffling his hair. “No way, not in a million years. That was a humiliating defeat for me, you know.”

Miya pulls himself out of Reki’s grip, straightening out his clothes and hair, and shooting Reki a dirty look. “Whatever. I got you this time.”

The racers pull into the street a few moments later (it was a draw), and Reki practically begins to vibrate. He turns his gaze to the tall man who is refereeing that night and waits for his signal to grab his car and pull over to the starting line. When he gets the wave from the referee, he almost sprints to the red BMW. 

Reki finds the wait before a race begins the hardest. He stuffs the earpiece (really just a wireless headphone) into his ear and waits for Miya’s voice to play back at him. 

“Can you hear me okay?” Miya asks. 

Reki flexes his fingers around the steering wheel in anticipation. “Yeah, all good on my end. Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Miya confirms. “Joe’s pulling in next to you right now.”

Reki turns to his left, where Joe is grinning smugly at Reki. Reki rolls his eyes and flips him off for a second time, only this time Joe returns it. 

The loud voice of one of the higher ups breaks Reki’s competitive trance. 

“Racers, on my mark!” he yells, his voice so loud it can be heard from inside the car with clarity. 

Reki starts taking a few deep breaths. This is it, the rush of adrenaline he’d been waiting for all day. Finally he can push the pedal as far down as he dared, flying down the street faster than any falcon, any cheetah, any animal that has ever lived. He can keep that speed up for as long as he wants, burning rubber and the smell of victory being the only thing that will fill his lungs once he takes off. The anticipation is killing him.

“3!”

Reki tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

“2!”

He revs the engine, preparing to take off.

“1!”

This is it. His freedom is calling. 

“Go!”

And just like that, Reki is flying at a million miles an hour, tearing through the cramped street like it is nothing but an endless open field made just for him. He swerves to the left to fit into the makeshift track set up by dilapidated cones. Joe’s car means nothing to him, it's just another obstacle Reki needs to tackle before he secures his victory, his freedom. 

Reki never thought that this was where he would end up when he began his studies in America. His parents, sweet people, always cared about him getting a top notch education. He never was too interested in school, spending most of his free time skateboarding with the neighborhood kids or learning about cars. Getting the opportunity to go to NYU was something his parents were more excited for than he was. Reki knows in his heart that he doesn’t really belong there, with all the smart and organized kids who already have their lives planned out for themselves. He’s never been one for plans himself, opting to instead wing things and just hope it goes well. Things seem to work out better that way. 

Planning and getting too attached to a goal always leaves a chance that he will never achieve it. So it’s just better if he didn’t have a wish, a goal, in order to avoid disappointment. It’s just better if he vents out all of his frustration and anger at his parents, his professors, himself, through “S”. 

Reki pulls his car sharply to the right, matching a new turn added to the track. Joe is tailing him, his car sure to overtake Reki’s if Reki even lifts his foot an inch from the gas. 

“Joe’s gaining on you, be careful with this next turn he’ll try and get you here,” Miya’s voice instructs through Reki’s earpiece.

“I’m gonna just run through it,” Reki replies a little too easily, his foot pressing even more insistently on the gas pedal. “I can make the turn.”

“Are you insane?” Miya exclaims. “Reki, you’ll crash!”

“You don’t know that, kiddo.”

“Except I do. It’s basic physics, dipshit. Press on the brake. If needed you can try and catch up on him on the next straightaway.”

Reki grunts angrily. Joe will beat him if he lets up at this turn, Reki knows it for sure. But a night in the ER may be just a little worse. As the turn comes, Reki reluctantly heeds Miya’s advice, slowing down to make the turn and letting Joe pass him with a smug look on his face. 

“Sorry Reki, but you gotta stay safe,” Miya says. 

Reki rolls his eyes, returning to pushing hard on the gas in a feeble attempt to catch up to Joe. He ignores Miya’s words, the adrenaline rush that he had before suddenly a lot less exhilarating than he remembers it. He makes the final turn, watching Joe pull over the finish line with a whoop. Pathetically, Reki follows, his front tire inching over the finish line before he puts the BMW into park. Joe is at his window, grinning, before Reki can even step out of the car. Reki pushes the door open, pressing his arms against the top of the door and leaning his head lazily to one side.

“I guess you bested me here, dear old Joe,” Reki admits. “Don’t take the victory too heavily.”

“Aw, it was a good race! You know, until you lost,” Joe replies lamely. “You need to work on your speed, dude! You were right ahead of me until the second to last turn.”

Reki hums. “Yeah, I gotta work on that I guess.”

Joe holds out a hand for Reki to shake, and with a congratulatory smile on Reki’s face, he takes it. 

“Aw, nice of you to be so kind to the rookie.”

Reki whips around to the source of the voice, stunned to be greeted by Adam. Adam is one of the oldest members of “S”, and one of the highest ranked. Reki’s never raced against him and for good reason. Adam was only able to snatch the top spots by playing dirty. He’s the reason they had to mark corners with brightly colored cones. Deaths hadn’t occurred but plenty of crashes and injuries had, most of them thanks to Adam’s deadly technique. 

Joe’s grin is quickly replaced by a stern expression. From what Reki has heard from Cherry, he, Joe, and Adam were once all friends. Something happened that split them, though, and now they have a bitter rivalry with him. Since Reki joined, they have been protective of both him and Miya, ensuring that they don’t have to go up against the ruthless force that is Adam. Reki doesn’t need either of them to say anything to him in order to know that they are protecting him. 

“What do you want, Adam,” Joe snaps. “Your race starts soon, shouldn’t you be having your goons put down spike tape along the track right now?”

Adam unleashes a hearty, yet chilling, laugh. “Oh, Joe! You do know how to make me laugh, even after all this time.” He pushes his long blue hair out of his face. “I was just going to compliment the rookie on his technique.” He turns to Reki, a terrifyingly calm smile on his face. “Excellent work out there, Reki.”

Reki has met plenty of weird people in his time, he lives in goddamn New York, for fucks sake! This Adam guy, however, is on a whole new tier of weird. Reki’s skin crawls and he has the urge to get as far away from him as fast as he possibly can.

“Thanks,” he replies coldly. “But my friends and I will be leaving now.”

“So early?” Adam asks, his fingers daintily tracing over Reki’s BMW. “There’s still a lot more to see.”

Reki eyes Adam’s hand. “Please stop touching my car.”

Adam pauses, before pulling his hand away. “Well, I see that I’m not welcome here.”

Joe swings a protective arm around Reki’s shoulder. “No, you’re not. Now leave.”

Adam frowns, and with a pretentious _hmph!_ he returns to his gang and his custom designed car.

“Geez, that guy is so weird!” Reki says as soon as Adam is out of earshot. “You and Cherry seriously used to be friends with him?”

Joe removes his arm from Reki’s shoulder and shrugs. “Yeah, unfortunately. He’s like a bad smell you can’t get out.”

Before Reki can say anything else, he hears Cherry call out his name. “Reki! Joe! You two want to get drinks?”

Miya runs up behind him, the iPad that he had used to view Reki’s dashcam in hand. “Hello? Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

Cherry shakes his head. “You’re 16, kid. I already told you no.”

Miya throws an accusatory finger at Reki. “Yeah? And he’s only 20!”

Cherry looks the lean 20 year old Reki over again, which only confirms his initial thought. “Close enough.”

Miya opens his mouth to protest again, but Reki interrupts him. “Doesn’t your mom miss her minivan?”

“Doesn’t your dad miss his BMW?”

Reki gasps in dramatic shock. “Dad? Oh my god, Cherry, you’re my father? After all this time I’ve found you!” Much against Cherry’s will, Reki pulls him into a tight hug. He can hear Joe and Miya laugh hysterically at the stunt, most likely because Cherry’s facial expression is one of exasperation.

When Reki finally lets him go, Cherry takes a moment to straighten out his outfit. “Now that that’s sorted, drinks you two?”

“Yeah, I’ll tag along,” Joe says. 

Reki, however, shakes his head. “Not tonight, sorry guys. I’m feeling a bit tired and I have an all day shift tomorrow at the shop.”

“Suit yourself,” Cherry replies. “Will you be keeping the car overnight?”

“If you don’t mind, _Dad_ ,” Reki teases.

Cherry frowns but nods. “Okay, fine. I’ll see you and Miya tomorrow then! Goodnight.”

“Night!” Reki and Miya call to Cherry and Joe as they walk away, though they probably didn’t hear them. The two bicker often, even though they have been friends since childhood. 

Reki hops into the BMW and starts the engine again, waving goodbye to Miya through the window. He backs out of the street and sticks to the far left side, to avoid any oncoming racers. Once he safely exits the road, he drives normally back to his apartment in the Upper East Side. With both the money he earns from the shop as well as his earnings from some of the betting he does at “S”, he’s been able to rent an apartment at a reasonable rate. Well, for Manhattan, at least. 

The ride back is silent, except for the soft music Reki plays through the car speakers. Lately, he’s been particularly keen to listen to pop music from the early 2010s. Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and One Direction are his favorites. As he drives, he lets his mind wander. The day had been the same old, going from doing some homework earlier in the day to heading to the shop to do the last shift of the day and close up. However, there is one particular moment that he keeps looping back to. The man with piercing blue eyes and silky light blue hair, Lunga. 

Man, that guy was gorgeous. Shame that Reki only got to see him once. 

Reki pulls into the parking garage much sooner than he thought, the drive back to his apartment a blur due to the number of times he had completed it. Before he knew it, he had tossed his eyes onto the counter, showered, and was face down onto his pillows. 

This also means that Reki’s alarm goes off a lot sooner than he was expecting, too.

Still tired from his night out, Reki drags his socked feet to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. With a groan and a gentle hit of his head on his closet door frame, he realizes that he left his uniform in Cherry’s BMW. Reki is not in the mood to go fish it out of the trunk, so he throws on a plain white t-shirt and black jeans, praying that if his manager is in today he doesn’t notice. 

Finally, keys in hand and a cold croissant in his mouth, Reki locks the door to his apartment and heads down to the parking garage. His head is foggy as he starts the car, mentally preparing himself for yet another long day of pouring coffee after coffee until he can get his adrenaline fix. 

The day passes by in the same blur. Miya running in and out of the shop, taking cartons of coffee from Reki’s hands. Milk spilling all over the tile floor, and a small child slipping in it (for once, it didn’t end in a lawsuit). Angry Karen’s demanding refills. As much as Reki enjoys meeting new people and, surprisingly, making coffee, he is on his wits end all day. One wrong move and Reki is ready to throw his apron down on the ground, scream “I’m outta here!”, vault over the counter, and run out of there. Closing time can’t come soon enough. 

It happens at almost the exact same time as the day before, in nearly the exact same way.

Reki is wiping down the counter when he hears the jingle of bells from the door. In a monotonous tone he says, “Welcome in, what can I get you?” When he doesn’t get an answer, he looks up, finding himself making very direct eye contact with the man from yesterday.

“Oh! Hi, Reki,” Langa greets. “Nice to see you again.”

Reki swallows down a gulp of air. “H-hey! Nice to see you too, uh, Loynga!”

Lyawnga smiles at him. “Just a latte for me, please.”

“What?”

“My order.”

Reki flushes a deep pink. “Right! I’m on it. Medium, right?”

Lownja nods. “$3.50?”

Reki types the order into the cash register with shaky fingers. “Yeah.” He slides the card. “Thanks.”

“No, thank you.” 

Reki’s knees should not be turning to jelly at that, right? He turns away to make the latte, a million thoughts running through his head. Should he ask for his number? Say something smooth? Ask for his hand in marriage? All of those ideas seemed a bit too far out of his reach at the moment, as Reki nearly drops the milk a second time today. Whatever, he’ll figure it out. He’s always better when he wings things. 

“Latte for Langa!” Reki announces to the empty coffee shop. Langa takes a few awkward steps forward, taking the cup from Reki’s outstretched hand. Their fingers brush momentarily, the sudden sparks dashing through Reki’s veins, similar to the rush that racing gives him. In that moment, Reki decides that he needs to turn on the charm. He’s going to get Langa on a date somehow. He just needs to figure out what he likes.

“What’s with the late night latte?” Reki asks as the _probable_ model walks towards the exit. 

He looks down at his cup, then back at Reki. “College student. I like to stay up late studying. The coffee helps.”

Reki hums in acknowledgement, raking his head for any other questions he can ask to keep the stunning stranger there for a little longer. “What college do you go to?”

Lawngya takes a few steps away from the door and instead inches towards the counter. “Columbia. I’m studying linguistics there.”

“Holy shit, Columbia? That’s amazing!” Reki exclaims, leaning over the counter. “Linguistics is so cool too, what do you want to do?”

Loawnga rubs the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. “I’m not entirely sure yet. I just really like languages. Are you in school?”

Reki nods. “Yeah, NYU. Still undeclared, though. I’m not entirely sure what I want to do.”

“Wow, that’s still really amazing! Is your family from around here?”

“No, actually I’m from-” 

Just then, a flash of neon green cuts Reki off. Miya’s bright green hoodie stands out against the city streets, and through the glass door, Reki can see that he is desperately waving arms and pointing to his wrist. _His wrist? The time!_

Reki glances at the wall behind him, where an analog clock displays the time. 6:20? Already? Reki waves at Miya, signalling that he’ll be over soon. Miya rolls his eyes before taking off to Sialaluce. 

“Something wrong?” Langa asks, also staring at the neon green streak that had just taken off. “Sorry, you should be closing up-”

Reki shakes his hands and his head. “No, no! Don’t worry about it, that was just a friend. I had just totally forgotten that I have a...thing after work today.”

“No problem. It was nice getting to know you, Reki.” And with a soft smile, the model leaves the coffee shop. 

For the first time in a long time, Reki isn’t sure that he needs “S” to feel a rush of adrenaline. 

  * ｡o°✥✤✣ ✣✤✥°o｡



Reki continues this routine with Laonja for the next few weeks. He convinces his manager to give him the closing shift as many days as he can just so he can speak to _him_ for fifteen minutes every day. They learn a lot about each other over these few weeks, like Reki learns that he loves to snowboard and Lownjya learns that Reki collects headbands.

One evening, Reki hears from his manager that he needs to close up early. He’s disappointed; he won’t be able to have his daily talk with Lewnga. Hopefully Reki can make it up to him tomorrow night. If he’s lucky, he can convince Joe and Cherry to leave for “S” without him, and then meet them there after the first race. 

Reki turns the key in the coffee shop lock and stuffs them into his pants pocket. He’s a hour early for the usual meet up time, but wouldn’t it be such a gift to Joe and Cherry if he graced them with a presence for an hour longer today? Reki smiles at the thought when a motorcyclist pulls up and parks on the curb in front of the shop. Reki’s not one for motorcycles, but he knows a gorgeous vehicle when he sees one. The motorcycle is jet black and shiny, with icy blue crystals along some of the thicker portions. Its rider is wearing a jet black helmet with a navy blue visor. 

Reki admires the motorcycle a moment longer before shouldering his book bag and taking a few steps forward towards Sialaluce. 

“Reki?”

Reki turns around at the familiar voice, his breath catching in his throat. Of fucking _course_ the model drives a motorcycle. What else would it be for him? 

His blue hair falls in waves from the helmet and he shakes his to get it to fall just the way he likes it. The helmet rests on his hip, held in place with a hand adorned with a few dainty rings. Reki begins to reevaluate all the choices he made that lead him here. 

“Oh! Hey, Langa,” Reki manages to get out. “Manager said we had to close early today. Sorry.”

His blue eyes widen in more of a flustered surprise than shock. “Ah, alright then.”

Reki adjusts his headband. “Yeah, yeah, sorry about that. I would have told you but I, uh, don’t have your number.”

“Do you want it?”

“What?”

“My number. Do you want it?”

Reki’s brain short circuits. Somehow, every conversation with this blue eyed man gives him a high that racing doesn’t even come close to. It also makes him a massive idiot prone to non stop rambling. “If you want me to have it, then yes! If not, then you can keep it. I won’t be offended! It’s your number so you should get to pick who it goes to. I hope I’m one of them. Well, not hope, I just-”

In two strides Langa is face to face with Reki, nudging a scrap of paper into his hand. Reki takes the paper, his heart beating so fast it might burst. On the paper, in cursive are the following words: _Langa Hasegawa, (_ _416)-739-2929_. 

Wait, Langa?

“Your name is spelled L-A-N-G-A?” Reki asks stupidly. 

Langa raises an eyebrow, confused. “Uh, yeah?”

“You’ve been letting me write ‘Longah’ and ‘Lowngah’ on your cups for weeks! And you didn’t tell me?”

Langa shrugs. “I just didn’t really take notice, or care.”

Reki rubs the bridge of his nose with his middle finger and thumb. “I can’t believe I haven’t known your actual name for three whole weeks.”

“I mean, it’s alright? If that’s any consolation.”

Reki opens his mouth to reply, or ramble, but before he can get any words out, a green hoodie stands out in his peripheral vision.

Miya pops a bubble with his bubblegum, gawking at Reki and Langa. “Uh, Reki? Aren’t you heading over to Sialaluce?”

Reki nods. “Yeah, one sec Miya.”

Miya glances between the two again, seemingly creating some complicated conspiracy theory about them. “Are you going to introduce us?”

Reki gives Langa a shy smile in apology, before trapping Miya in a paralyzing headlock. “Langa, this is my co-worker/menace Miya. Miya this is my, uh, regular, Langa.”

Langa gives Miya a reserved wave while Miya fights Reki’s grip. “Good to meet you, dude. Sorry you’ve had to deal with all of Reki’s shit. He’s a mess.” Reki subtly steps onto Miya’s toe for that comment while trying to keep a smile on his face for Langa. 

“Nice to meet you too,” Langa replies politely. “Reki, didn’t you need to go?”

Reki silently curses Miya for bringing that up. “Yeah. Sorry about that, and about your latte today. There’s another really good coffee shop about two blocks over, I think they are still open.”

Langa smiles at Reki, pushing his long blue hair out of his face. “Okay. Thanks for the suggestion,” he replies softly. Langa pulls his helmet over his head and lifts the visor. “Don’t forget to use that number next time you close early. Or something else happens that I must urgently know about.” Reki nods, the words catching in his throat. Miya uses this opportunity to wrestle out of Reki’s grip and pull out his phone. 

“Yeah, I will. See you later, Langa.”

Langa nods in response, his blue eyes twinkling with the hint of a smile. He then flips the visor down and starts the motorcycle’s engine, the roar encompassing the entire silent street. With one quick rev, Langa takes off down the road, Reki’s eyes not leaving his figure until he rounds a corner.

“Shit, you’re whipped.”

Reki doesn’t hesitate to smack Miya at the back of the head. “Shut the fuck up! I’m not at all whipped.”

Miya’s smile is catlike. “Whatever you wanna tell yourself.” He glances at the paper still curled in Reki’s hand. “Let me know when you text him. I think I’m gonna start a pool with Joe and Cherry on when you guys will get together.” Miya takes off towards Sialaluce before Reki gets a chance to put the little brat in another headlock. 

“I don’t even know if he likes boys!” Reki yells, taking off after him. 

Man, does he wish he had a skateboard right now to catch up to that little shit.


	2. see you make your way through the crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miya crosses his arms over his chest. “Motherfucker,” he says simply. “Can’t stand that guy. I don’t even feel like racing due to this bullshit.”  
> Joe scoffs. “Can’t help but agree with you there. I think I’m just going to head home, maybe go for a run instead. I can’t deal with this tonight.”  
> Cherry nods, his car beeping as he unlocks it. “With you there. I’m leaving before I bash his head in.” With that, he climbs into his car. Joe and Miya follow with their vehicles. Reki, however, remains cemented in place.  
> Miya rolls down his window. “Uh, Reki? Aren’t you leaving?”

Reki is panting by the time he catches up to Miya. Miya decided to sprint the entire way to Sialaluce on his quick, skinny kid legs while Reki tried to match his pace. Running was never a problem for Reki, but damn that kid was  _ fast _ . They stop at the front of the store, Reki panting an embarrassing amount while Miya laughs at him. 

“Shut up!” Reki wheezes standing to his full height of six feet. Miya, at just 5’6”, is just a little shorter than him, but still enough for Reki to tower over him intimidatingly if he wanted to. This seems to be one of those times. To compensate for the height that Reki has over him, Miya socks him in the stomach, soft enough to not bruise but hard enough for Reki to double over. 

“Fuck you!” Reki breathes, pushing his falling hair out of his face and rubbing his hand over the spot Miya punched. “Why are you so violent?”

“Why are you trying to get in that guy’s pants?”

Cherry picked the wrong time to open the door. “Who is trying to get into  _ who’s _ pants?”

Miya points an accusatory finger at Reki before he can even open his mouth to defend himself. “He likes a boy who has a motorcycle and blue hair. Typical.”

Cherry stares at Reki, who has begun planning a gory and violent death for Miya. “Really? Well, come inside and tell me and Joe all about him!” Cherry motions for the two boys to follow him inside, where Reki grumbles something about “not having that big of a crush on him”, but that is promptly ignored when Cherry grabs Joe from the back. 

“Reki wants to tell us about a boy,” Cherry tells Joe. Joe sits backwards on one of the chairs in the waiting area, resting his chin on the top of the wire frame. 

“Aw, how sweet! Well, don’t hold anything back. Tell your dear old dads everything.”

“You guys aren’t my dads! Also there isn’t anything to tell!” Reki crosses his arms and sits down in another chair. The flush on his face disagrees with his statement, though. 

Miya pokes at his cheek. “You’re blushing! There is something you want to tell us. C’mon, Reki! You’re always such a blabbermouth, why can’t you tell us about the one thing we want to hear about?”

Reki pulls his cheek out of Miya’s reach. “Because it’s none of your business! Besides, he’s just a customer. We talk sometimes and that’s it. There’s literally nothing more to it.”

Miya flashes a catlike smile. “Oh really? Because I’m pretty sure he gave you his number!”

This piques Cherry and Joe’s interest. “His number? Oh man, he’s totally into you!” Joe leans forward in his chair. “Ah, young love. So sweet, so innocent.”

“You almost stabbed me when we were younger!” Cherry counters, nearly pushing Joe off of his chair. 

Joe rolls his eyes. “Well, yeah, because  _ you _ ran into  _ my _ kitchen screaming bloody murder.”

“That squirrel nearly attacked me, Joe! What was I supposed to-”

Miya clears his throat loudly, finally catching the attention of the two bickering adults. “Can we get back to Reki’s thing, please? You old people are so fucking narcassistic.”

Reki sighs, pulling his headband down to cover his eyes as the attention turns back on him. He loves the spotlight, but on his pathetic love life? Not so much. 

“Right, sorry Reki,” Cherry says. “Now, please walk us through how you got this wonderful boy’s number. And his name, please. I’d love to know his name.”

“It’s Langa,” Reki replies, defeated. “He comes into Dope Sketch near closing almost every day. He always orders a latte. Not a lot of people come in around that time so we just talk for around fifteen minutes before he heads out.” Reki removes the headband from the front of his eyes to see his three friends all leaning in to listen. He stands up and begins to pace the shop, continuing. Maybe it will actually be good for him if he talks about his feelings.

“Miya’s right, I guess. I do like him. He’s got pretty blue eyes and icy blue hair. He’s quiet, but he can be funny when he wants to be. I dunno, he just seems to get me. He always listens to what I have to say whenever we talk and lets me ramble if I need to.”

“Does he know about ‘S’?” Miya interjects. 

Reki shakes his head. “No, he doesn’t. I’m not sure I want to tell him. He’s a good person, he goes to Columbia and all that. I don’t think him finding out I’m some adrenaline junkie who likes to race fast cars will go over well with him. It definitely won’t lead to a relationship or even a date, I know that for a fact.”

Cherry looks at him sympathetically. “Well, maybe not! You said you’ve known him for a few weeks, correct?” Reki nods. Cherry grins and continues, “That doesn’t mean he will disprove! He gave you his number so he definitely sees something in you.”

“I’m pretty sure he gave it to me just to be friends. Like I told Miya, the little shit, earlier, I’m not even sure he likes boys.”

Miya rolls his eyes, tugging at his neon green sweatshirt. “He drives a damn motorcycle, Reki. Either he is incredibly homosexual or a misogynist. I think that gamble is worth it, especially with that hair.”

Joe raises his eyebrows. “A motorcycle and blue hair? Yeah, that’s pretty… you know.” Joe holds up a limp wrist. 

Reki punches him in the shoulder. “I still don’t know for sure! I just don’t want to do anything that’ll ruin our friendship. I really like hanging out with him, okay?”

“You won’t know unless you say something,” Cherry reasons. “Get to know him more. Maybe hang out with him outside of Dope Sketch, as friends. You’ll get closer to him that way.”

“I know how to make friends, Cherry.”

“Still! Take my advice. How do you think I got that big idiot?”

Joe snickers. “You better not be talking about me. There better be some other ‘big idiot’ that you’re cheating on me with.”

Cherry looks at Reki pointedly, as if to say, “See?”. Reki rolls his eyes, fiddling with the papers, pens, and keys that Cherry mistakenly left within his reach. 

“I just don’t know if he wants to hang out with me outside of Dope Sketch. What if he doesn’t like me? My interests?”

Cherry and Joe share a look. Reki knows it a little too well. They are about to give him a patented Dad Talk. Miya knows the look too, whipping out his phone to probably post the interaction onto Twitter.

Joe decides to take this one, now rocking back and forth on the chair. “You’re amazing, Reki. We know it and I’m sure he does too. You’re great at making friends and talking to people! I’m sure he loves that stupid laugh of yours already. You’re fantastic! Even if he doesn’t want to be your friend, which I doubt because he gave you his number, you still got us. Everything will be fine, Reki, but you’ll never know how great they can be if you don’t reach out.”

Reki drops the pen he was doodling onto his palm with and it rattles for a few moments before settling. “Thanks guys. Really.” He smiles towards his friends before pulling out the slip of paper from his pocket. “I’ll text him now.”

“Very romantic of you,” Cherry comments, grabbing his keys from the counter. “But don’t take too long. We’re going to be late.”

Reki nods in acknowledgement as Miya and Joe skip past him, each grabbing their own keys from the counter. Soon, Reki is alone in the shop with only the flickering LED lights and his phone for company. With a deep breath, he opens his text messages, and types in Langa’s number. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ hey langa! this is reki :) _

_ That was entirely appropriate, right? _ Reki thinks as he saves the number onto his phone in a contact labelled simply with “langa”. His phone doesn’t buzz with a reply from his new friend, probably an indicator that he’s busy. Reki rocks back and forth on his heels for a few moments though, just in case Langa does find himself free to respond in the next few seconds or so. When his phone screen still stares blankly at him, he twirls his keys around his finger and joins the others in the parking lot. 

“Texted him?” Miya asks, leaning against the beige minivan. 

“Yup,” Reki replies, popping the “P”. “The pep talk you guys gave me worked wonders.”

Cherry shrugs, opening his pink Bugatti’s door. “It’s what we do best.” He climbs inside, prompting the others to do the same. Reki climbs into his car with a different feeling in his body than usual. This one feels warmer than his usual buzz, a feeling that has him more on edge and alert. Reki decides, once he pulls out of the tattoo shop parking lot and onto the road, that this louder feeling is his favorite. 

He follows Cherry and Joe as they drive respectfully up the street to the same street they have always pulled into in the Bronx. They park along the sides of the crowded street. When Reki steps out of the car though, he realizes that there is something a little different about the crowd today. Usually, the crowd is spread out along either side of the street, giving everyone enough room to stand and watch the racers. Today, the crowd is much more condensed, and seems to be forming a semi circle around something, or someone. Reki looks towards his friends, who seem to make the same observation as he does. They all step closer to one another, eyes still on the weirdly shaped crowd. 

“What do you think is going on?” Miya questions, standing on the tips of his toes to try and see over the many heads of people. “Are we missing something?”

“I’m not sure,” Cherry says, an edge to his voice. “Whatever it is though, it doesn’t look good.” 

They step forward together, gently (and not so gently) maneuvering through the crowd to get a view of what has everyone so riled up. Reki can just barely see strands of bright blue hair in the middle of the crowd. He narrows his eyes and continues to push his way forward. He knows who is addressing the crowd before he can even make it to the front. The same man who had uncomfortably sidled up to him just a few weeks prior.

Lo-and behold, Adam is sitting on the hood of his Ferrari. The mask he is wearing over his eyes sparkles in the light of the fluorescent street lamp directly above him. The cunning smile on his face leaves Reki feeling uneasy, and with a glance at Joe, Cherry, and Miya, he can tell it makes them feel the same way too. Adam is up to something and it’s not something that will end well.

Adam catches sight of Joe and Cherry, the smile on his face widening to resemble one of the Cheshire Cat. “Ah, my boys! Very good to see you on this excitable evening.”

Cherry clenches his fists. “What are you planning, Adam?”

Adam runs his hands over the hood of his car, not looking up at Cherry. “Oh, you’ll see soon. ‘S’ could use something new to spice up racing, don’t you think?”

“Nothing more dangerous than it already is,” Cherry warns. “You have a tendency to go overboard.” 

Adam laughs humorlessly. “Oh, of course you think so,  _ Cherry _ .” He doesn’t even make an attempt to hide the venom in his voice. “After all, you did have a hand in quite a few...accidents.” He doesn’t hide his glance to Joe either. 

Reki looks between the two, the pent up anger and tension clear. He isn’t sure what happened between the two, but he knows whatever it may be was bad enough to tear them apart. It’s a wound that still hasn’t healed, even after all the time that they have spent in “S”. That alone is enough to make Reki not have any trust in Adam or his motivation. The guy is out for blood, whether it be Cherry and Joe’s, or someone else’s. Reki has a feeling that Adam doesn’t care whose it is. When Cherry doesn’t have a curt reply, Adam turns his gaze to the crowd, his grin as wide as ever. 

“Thank you all for gathering on this fine evening,” Adam says, raising his arms over his head. “I have quite the exciting announcement for you all. I’m sure you will find it something of interest.” He jumps off of his car, pacing in front of it as the crowd holds their breath, on the edge of their seats. The suspense of Adam’s announcement gets to Reki too, and he feels himself drawn in.

“We all love to race, that is definitely certain. We have been using this street among others in the city to race each other in short laps, the distances not far enough to travel but just enough to feel that rush of adrenaline that makes us all giddy.” Adam curls his long fingers together, intertwining them and resting them below his chin. “What if we could make that adrenaline last longer? Feel stronger? What if I told you that ‘S’ doesn’t have to be limited to just Manhattan? Or even the state of New York? What if I told you we can feel this rush for hours, possibly even days, then be met with the Pacific Ocean on the other side of the rush?”

Reki gasps, knowing where Adam is going with his dastardly proposal. He can tell Cherry and Joe understand too, based off of their furrowed brows and fiery eyes. Miya, however, doesn’t seem to be catching on. Hopefully this isn’t going in the direction Adam is so keen on. Hopefully he makes a joke of it, informs them that today is just going to be a normal night of racing as it always has been. Hope doesn’t get Reki far. 

“I challenge all of you, every last one of you, to a race across the country. The first person in Los Angeles, California, wins.”

The crowd erupts in cheers and commotion, everyone quick to fire off questions and express their excitement. The only ones silent are Reki and his friends, all of them sharing glances. Reki has only had a conversation with Adam once, but had seen him race many times. He was ruthless in his racing, though often there was nothing on the line. There’s nothing to suggest that he is any different in a long distance race, and the suggestion itself is already a red flag. These races are known to end with federal fines and jail time, not to mention injury and even death. The precedent is enough to make even Reki uneasy, though he can’t deny the rush he felt when Adam said the words, “I challenge you, every last one of you, to a race across the country.” Those words in themselves is enough to make all of the adrenaline seekers in the crowd rowdy. Reki feels the same way as them on the inside, but still airs on the side of caution. Based on Cherry and Joe’s reaction, nothing this guy says can be good news.

Adam brushes his bangs out of his face, the crystals on the mask returning to the light and glittering like the stars above. “There are a few additional details, though,” Adam yells in an attempt to get everyone’s attention again. In mere seconds, the attention is back on him. It’s like they are under a spell.

“Players in this game will need to pay an entrance fee. $200 to be exact. The winner will win the pot,” he explains. “Everything is fair game. Any tactic you can possibly think of is allowed in order to disrupt other racers. No one will be monitoring the race. The first racer to begin here, on this street and make it to a later disclosed location in Los Angeles will be the winner. You may drive in pairs, but both will need to provide the $200 fee,” Adam clarifies. “And, entrances start now. I’ll accept competitors until a month from now. The race will take place in July, five months from now.”

With that, Adam raises his arms again, gesturing towards the crowd with a flourish. “So now, let the competition begin!” 

Once again, the crowd erupts into chaos, voices enveloping each other and a flurry of people headed to Adam with cash in their hands. They all end up blocked by Adam’s assistant, a tall dark haired man who hides his face with the visor of a hat. Adam smirks at Joe and Cherry before climbing into his car and revving the engine. The crowd parts like the sea as Adam exits. The announcement was enough. He doesn’t need the race today to feel anything more. His assistant stays behind to collect the names and money for the first racers’ entries. 

Joe, Cherry, and Miya back away from the crowd, Miya grabbing Reki’s hood to tug him along in the process. They make it back to where they parked their cars, about thirty feet away from the crowd. The shrieks are still loud, but it’s quiet enough for them to talk.

“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” Joe bursts. “He knows he can’t propose something like this,  _ he can’t. _ ”

Cherry, unusually calm, places a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “He can. He’s tried it before in the past, with the race from here to Dallas, you know he’s always been capable of proposing something like this. Adam just wants to take advantage of those addicted to adrenaline and make some quick cash from them. He’s going to rig the race in his favor one way or another.”

Miya crosses his arms over his chest. “Motherfucker,” he says simply. “Can’t stand that guy. I don’t even feel like racing due to this bullshit.”

Joe scoffs. “Can’t help but agree with you there. I think I’m just going to head home, maybe go for a run instead. I can’t deal with this tonight.”

Cherry nods, his car beeping as he unlocks it. “With you there. I’m leaving before I bash his head in.” With that, he climbs into his car. Joe and Miya follow with their vehicles. Reki, however, remains cemented in place. 

Miya rolls down his window. “Uh, Reki? Aren’t you leaving?” 

Reki looks to Miya, the worry on his face apparent. Miya and the others know how serious he is about racing, and just how keen he is for the certain rush he gets often from it. It’s natural for him to be worried that Reki may be considering entering the race. Deep down, maybe he is. Reki has never been one to back down from a challenge, especially one as enticing as this one. It’s a matter of whether or not Reki will follow his head or his instincts. He’s never been good at keeping those two in the right order.

Reki gives Miya a small, far off smile. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking for a second there.”

Miya studies his face, not really believing that Reki is telling the whole story. “Alright. I’ll wait for you just in case that creep decides to pull up again.”

That makes Reki chuckle. “What are you going to do? Hit him with your minivan?”

Miya shrugs. “Yeah, basically. Gas pedal’s very tempting right about now.”

With an eye roll, Reki unlocks the car and sits inside. Once his music begins to blare, Miya decides that it is safe to let Reki make his own exit and drives off. Before following him, Reki stays seated in the car a moment longer. The race is tempting. Too tempting. It’s like Adam is trying to goad him into this or something, dangling the bait in front of him like Reki is a fish in a pond. It’s infuriating. But so, so tempting. Reki could do it, he knows it. He could reach out and take the bait and savor the feeling of being on top of the world for literal days. It’s too easy. Reki’s hand is on the car door handle when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. 

Reki pulls it out and a smile graces his face when he sees who it is from. 

**_langa:_ ** _ Hey Reki! Glad I have your number now too. _

Reki doesn’t hesitate to message him back, his fingers flying over the keyboard. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ yay! we are one step closer to being best friends :) _

Reki winces once he realizes what he said. “Best friends”? Really? That was a bit forward. He gets over the flash of embarrassment fast, though. 

**_langa:_ ** _ Certainly! I’ll text you back in a second, I’m about to get on the road.  _

An engine revs in the street, catching Reki’s attention momentarily before he returns to his phone to reply. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ me too actually! i guess i’ll text you when i get back to my apartment _

With that, Reki pulls out of the street, not turning back. A race had started while he was texting Langa, but it doesn’t matter. Even though he may have been tempted to stay and complete at least one race, the thoughts clouding his head are enough to convince him to head home. Besides, he still has to catch up with Langa. 

As always, the drive back to Cherry’s is uneventful. The lights can be seen through the paper blinds of the shop, so Reki knows that they headed back there to wait for him instead of heading straight to their apartment. He parks the car right where it was before, then knocks twice on the back door. Cherry answers, wordlessly holding out his hand to take the keys. 

“Not even a ‘Hi Reki, so good to see you make it back in one piece.’?” Reki pouts.

Cherry sighs, gesturing for Reki again to hand over the keys. “Right. Hi Reki, so good to see you make it back in one piece.”

“No spunk? No fire? Something change during the drive back, Cherry?”

“I’m just tired, Reki. Not really in the mood to interact with anyone right now.”

Reki nods. He should have expected Cherry to not really be in the mood for conversation after that encounter with Adam. He sees Joe over his shoulder, gathering their things from the shop before they retire to their apartment a block away. 

“No problem,” Reki replies simply, placing the keys in Cherry’s palm. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight!”

Cherry waves once instead of saying goodnight and closes the door with a gentle  _ click _ . Reki takes a deep breath of the cool night air, eyes pointed towards the sky. It was clear just an hour ago, when Adam was giving his speech, but now there are stormy clouds covering the stars. Reki makes it down to the end of the street and hops down the stairs to the subway. Hopefully he won’t have to walk in the rain on the way to his apartment. 

The subway is still crowded, the hour still early enough for the entire city to want to travel across it. Reki stuffs himself into a packed subway car, bracing himself against a pole while jamming his earphones into his ears. He lets his music blast and carry him all the way home. 

By the time he steps out of the subway car, people with umbrellas are already beginning to climb in. The rain must have started. Reki has to suppress a groan as he approaches the subway station’s stairs which are already soaked with water. His thin hoodie isn’t going to do much to stop the rain, so he doesn’t bother to lift it. With heavy steps he braces himself as the cold water tickles his face and the nape of his neck. The walk to his apartment isn’t long, just two blocks down. The rain is stalling him quite a bit though, as he has to dodge people with umbrellas and those without as they scramble for shelter. The wet pavement also makes him cringe. The sneakers he chose to wear today have no grip, not to mention they cost a stupid amount of money. Reki is careful to avoid any puddles or splashes of water, though when a woman walks by with long strides and accidentally splashes the sneakers, soaking them through, Reki just about gives up trying to keep them dry. They should have been a lost cause the moment he stepped off of the subway station and onto the street. 

Finally, he makes it to his apartment. He steps inside of the warm building, sighing in relief as he approaches the elevators. When he finally gets to his apartment and unlocks the door, he closes his eyes and just savors the feeling of being home. Reki shuts his door and locks it before flicking on the dim lights and heading over to his bathroom to shower. 

His clothes are soaked, though it is a miracle that his phone and earphones seem to be working fine. His wallet is a little damp, but the money and cards inside seem to be fine, so is the photo of him, his mom, and his sisters. Reki peels off his hoodie, the thin fabric doing nothing to protect him from the rain, just as he expected. He takes off his pants and undergarments next, before stepping under the warm spray of his shower. Reki enjoys the warm water while it lasts, washing his hair and doing some mild skincare before pulling on a worn t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. He ties his hair into a sloppy ponytail before padding into the kitchen to grab dinner. The fridge contains some leftover pasta that he made from the night before, so he begins to heat that up before pulling out his phone. Langa should be home by now, or not driving at least. Reki pulls out his phone to shoot him a text. It takes a lot of energy and focusing on the  _ whirrr  _ of the microwave for him to be able to type something out without overthinking it. 

**_Reki:_** _made it home! crazy how it just started raining right?_

Reki’s hot pasta bowl is in his hands when he gets a response.

**_langa:_** _Yeah, I was on my motorcycle with some friends when the rain started coming down. It wasn’t a fun trip back home._

**_Reki:_ ** _ i agree with you there. i wish i could have kept my friend’s car for longer when i was heading back to my apartment _

**_langa:_ ** _ What do you mean? Why were you borrowing their car? _

Reki bites his lip. He did not think this through. He obviously can’t confess to being a part of “S” this early into their friendship, it would probably scare Langa away to know he’s dealing with someone who enjoys such a dangerous hobby. Reki thinks about it for a moment longer before creating what he believes to be a solid enough excuse. Hopefully Langa won’t ask anymore questions about it.

**_Reki:_ ** _ oh he lets me borrow it sometimes to go grab stuff for him, like groceries and stuff, while he’s at work. i’m basically an errand boy :P _

**_langa:_ ** _ Oh, neat! Does he work near the coffee shop? _

Reki sighs in relief that Langa didn’t prod further. He didn’t know what he would say otherwise. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ yeah, he and his fiancé own the tattoo parlor next door, actually _

**_langa:_ ** _ Oh! Isn’t that where your other friend was calling you to earlier? _

**_Reki:_ ** _ yeah! that was miya. he’s a little shit _

**_langa:_ ** _ Aw, but he’s just a kid _

**_Reki:_ ** _ doesn’t mean he doesn’t get me into trouble with kaoru and kojiro all the time though _

**_Reki:_ ** _ kaoru and kojiro are the two who own sialaluce, btw _

**_langa:_ ** _ Neat! Their names sound familiar, but I can’t place from where _

**_Reki:_ ** _ maybe an ad? or just passing by sialaluce on your way to dope sketch _

**_langa:_ ** _ Maybe _

**_langa:_ ** _ Thanks for the offer today, by the way. I appreciated it. _

Reki’s heart skips a beat at that. He places his bowl in the sink, eyes still on his phone screen as he flops onto his bed with a giddy smile. His bangs flop out of his ponytail, so he takes a moment to re-tie it before responding to Langa. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ ofc! anything for my favorite customer ;) _

His thumb hovers over the “send” button. Is it too early for this? Is this too forward? Will langa think he’s being weird. Reki thinks about the message for a moment longer, before ultimately deciding to follow his instincts. They haven’t been wrong yet. He presses send. Reki hugs his pillow in anticipation for Langa’s response, his heart beating in his chest rapidly as the three little gray dots pop up on the left side of the screen. He takes in a breath and holds it, the  _ rush _ he so madly loves returning. When the gray response bubble appears, he nearly feels his heart explode. 

**_langa:_ ** _ Wouldn’t have expected any less from my favorite barista _

Reki can’t help but shriek a little into his pillow like a teenager. This  _ has _ to be a good sign. Maybe this is a go-ahead for more flirting? Because Reki was definitely flirting. Langa seemed to be too. Unless this was casual? Reki considers the message for a moment from a casual angle. There’s no way this was meant to be a “just friends” thing, right? The implications are too much. He sticks out his tongue at the corner of his mouth as his thumbs dance across his phone keyboard to come up with a crafty response. Just before he can send his message, a gray text bubble pops up on his screen. 

**_langa:_ ** _ I’m off to bed, got an exam early tomorrow morning. I’ll see you at 6! _

Reki deletes the message he had. There’s probably a better time for that. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ ok, goodnight! good luck on your exam, i’m sure you’ll do great :D  _

Reki debates adding, “can’t wait to see my favorite customer at 6” but ultimately decides against it. It’s probably too forward. It’s definitely too forward. He presses send then lets himself fully collapse into bed, his head resting on his fluffy pillow while he listens to the rain patter outside. The dopey smile on his face isn’t helping anything. Langa should not be this attractive over text, of all things. Reki tries to suppress his smile but is pathetically unsuccessful. He has no idea how he is going to stay calm, cool, and collected from here on out when with him.

Miya was right. Reki is undeniable, positively,  _ whipped _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS A LITTLE SHORT I PROMISE FROM NOW ON THE CHAPTERS ARE GONNA BE LONGER !!! reki falling for langa first has me in shackles im sorry but that concept is so cute. also ponytail!reki anyone ??? its been living in my head rent free for the past few days idc
> 
> also shadow is coming soon i promise !!! he is going to get a good introduction i swear !
> 
> i didnt proof this before posting i am so fucking sorry if you can tell LMAO
> 
> thanks for reading !!! comments, kudos, and shares are appreciated <3
> 
> twitter: @geckointhetrash


	3. you were throwing pebbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I like the rain,” Langa discloses. “That’s why I didn’t bring a raincoat today. I love it when it rains and I can touch it. It’s refreshing, I guess. I don’t know how else to explain it.” He’s still as close as he was before, Reki notices. Now he can even pinpoint the water droplets gathering on the ends of his hair.  
> “Me too,” responds Reki without hesitation. “It’s nice, most of the time. I just don’t like being caught in it without shelter when I have somewhere to be.”  
> Langa hums, his blue eyes meeting Reki’s brown ones. Reki thinks they are glowing at first, with how brightly colored they are. He wishes his eyes were such a rarity as his. Reki could study the color and sheen of Langa’s eyes forever and never get tired of it. They’re mesmerizing. Their fingers brush again. This time, Langa latches their pinkies together. Reki holds his breath as Langa leans in a little closer.

“-and so that’s when my sister spilled the slushy on me! I was soaked from head to toe, my shirt was raspberry blue for the rest of the day.”

Langa laughs, no, _giggles_ at the anecdote. Reki laughs with him, his hand seemingly inching closer from across the table. It is after hours on a cold February night. Reki was supposed to close up shop about an hour ago, but extended his stay just a while longer so he could have a coffee date with Langa. The shop is dimly lit, the only light coming from the single bulb above the table. Rain patters outside, though it is bound to begin to snow sometime this week.

“You had quite the crazy childhood,” Langa comments, taking a long sip from his hot latte. “I wish I had siblings like that.”

“You’re an only child?”

Langa nods. “Just me and my mom these days.”

“Oh? That’s nice.” Reki nearly bites down on his lip in embarrassment. 

Langa doesn’t seem to notice his sudden anxiousness, looking out the window and watching rain fall onto the sidewalk and into the street. “My dad passed about three years ago. It was tough for a while, but my mom and I pulled through together.”

“Is she in New York with you?”

Langa shakes his head. “No. She’s in Japan.”

Reki nearly spits out his coffee. “Japan?”

Langa quirks an eyebrow. “Yeah? I’m half Japanese, my mom grew up there. I grew up in Canada, though.”

Reki stares at him in disbelief. “I’m Japanese! I grew up there!”

Langa smiles with an equal amount of excitement as Reki. “Whoa! That’s so cool!”

Reki decides he likes it when Langa is excited. His eyes widen and the bright blue gets impossibly brighter. He beams, the pure joy visible in his whole face. It makes Reki want to give him a hug. 

“It’s funny that we found each other,” Langa says through a laugh. “We’re so alike.”

“We are,” Reki agrees. “Thanks for picking Dope Sketch for your daily pick-me-up, I guess.”

Langa rests his head on his palm, eyes not leaving Reki’s face. “You make good coffee.”

That makes Reki burst into laughter. “Me? Good coffee? Absolutely not!”

Langa frowns, looking between the nearly empty cup in his hand to a hysterical Reki. “Why’s that so funny?”

“This coffee isn't even that good! I’m definitely not the best at it. The guys a few blocks down have better coffee than I can offer. My coworkers have made it better, too.”

Langa shrugs, finishing off his latte with one final sip. “Doesn’t matter. You still make the best coffee in my eyes.”

Reki’s heart does a somersault. There was absolutely no reason for him to say something so endearing. 

“T-thanks,” Reki replies, trying desperately to keep his cool. 

Langa hums, stretching his arms above his head. “The rain’s making me tired. Does it make you feel the same way?”

“All the time.” Reki leans back in his chair. “It’s nice, though. It’s a comfortable kind of tired. One without worry. I miss the feeling in the summertime.”

Langa listens intently, like he was going to write poetry about this moment in the future and wanted to be as accurate to the source as possible. “I think I understand. I feel like that too, though most of the time it’s with snow.” He keeps his eyes on Reki as he speaks, like he’s whispering a secret into his ear. “I would snowboard with my dad as a kid. We would spend Christmases up on the slopes, just me, him, and my mom. It was a tradition to snowboard together Christmas morning.” His eyes soften at the fond memory, the pools of blue looking forlorn. “We would get up at dawn and go up the lift together. My mom would take a photo of us before and after we went down the slope. It was such a rush. That’s probably the only time I’ve never felt tired when coming face to face with snow. Those times, I felt such an intense rush of adrenaline in my body, and I wouldn’t stop until I’d worn it all down.” 

Reki catches onto every word as Langa says them, holding them like precious gems. What he says is all too familiar to Reki. It’s eerily similar to how he would describe what racing means to him, with the rush and the chase and the thrill

“Have you felt that, Reki? The yearn for a thrill that’s somehow bigger than you?”

“Yes, I have,” Reki answers, somehow breathless even though he knows he hasn’t done anything besides listen.

“Where do you get it?”

Reki’s mouth opens before he can even control what he wants to say. “Racing.”

Langa widens his eyes again in such a gentle way Reki thinks he’s going to melt. “Racing?” he echoes, his voice sounding far away. “Like...car racing?”

There’s no going back now. “Yes.”

“I’ve done that before.”

Langa is just full of surprises today. “What do you mean, you’ve done that before? I just confessed to an illegal activity. Are you sure you’re not some undercover cop?” Reki jokes, but internally he does pray that Langa truly hasn’t been playing him and isn’t a cop. That would be deeply embarrassing, not to mention land him in a whole heap of trouble. 

A strand of blue hair is tucked behind his ear. “I’m here with a family friend,” Langa explains. “He keeps an eye on me. He’s a part of a racing circuit around here and has brought me with him a few times. Apparently I’m not all too bad.”

Reki tilts his head slightly. “Weird. Never seen or heard of you around here. What’s the circuit called?”

“It’s called ‘S’.”

Reki nearly falls out of his chair. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re a part of ‘S’?”

Langa stares at him awkwardly, unsure of what to make of Reki’s reaction. “Uh, yes? I mean, I don’t go there every night or anything, but I’ll end up in the Bronx maybe once or twice a month.”

“Damn! We keep missing each other then.”

Reki sighs, gathering their two empty coffee cups and placing them into the sink. “At least we have each other’s contact information now, though,” he calls back to Langa. “We can tell each other what nights we go.”

Langa nods excitedly. “Yes. I’d love to see you race, Reki. I’m sure you’re amazing at it.”

Reki shakes his head, face red, feeling abashed. “Oh, surely not anymore than you.”

Langa smiles. Reki can feel his eyes following him as he takes off his apron and hangs it up. “No,” Langa disagrees, voice suddenly softer. “I’m sure you are the best at anything you do.”

“You have too much confidence in me.”

“I’m just saying it as it is, Reki. You’re amazing.”

Reki’s face can’t get redder than it is. “Thank you,” he replies gently. “So are you.”

A comfortable silence falls, one that allows them to sit and smile at each other without it being awkward. Reki rinses the cups while Langa pulls on his jacket and leans against the counter. 

Langa taps his fingers onto the countertop. “Hey Reki?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I was wondering if-”

A knock on the glass window interrupts Langa’s thought. Both turn to see what caused it and are greeted by the sight of a rain soaked Miya. “Let me in, bitch!” his muffled voice yells. 

Reki throws his hands up and gives Miya a very unpleasant gesture. “Go home! Your shift ended, like, an hour ago!” 

“I left my headphones here,” Miya complains, pulling at the door handle. 

Reki swears under his breath, pulling out his keys and unlocking the door. Miya stumbles in, his sneakers making an unpleasant _squish_ as he steps onto the tile floor. “I’ll be fast!” he says as he dashes to the back room. 

They watch as Miya nearly trips over his own feet entering the back room, Reki stifling a laugh. When he finally disappears behind the wooden door, Reki turns his attention back to Langa. “Sorry for the interruption. What were you trying to say earlier?”

Langa steps back. He looks away from Reki, finding the wet floor an astounding sight. His usually pale complexion is flushed, though it could just be the dim lighting. He pushed a strand of hair behind his ear, but it just falls forward again. “Nothing important,” he brushes off. 

Reki opens his mouth to ask again, but the signature sound of wet sneakers returns. Miya holds his green and purple headphones out in front of him, careful not to get them wet. 

“Great job leaving them here, short stack,” Reki teases. “Though next time it would be great if you didn’t get water all over the shop. Which I now gotta mop.”

Miya sticks his tongue out at him and blows a raspberry. “It’s what you get for spilling coffee on my new shoes.”

“I already apologized! Twice! I don’t know what else you want from me.”

Langa watches the back and forth between them, careful not to make a sound and be dragged into the bickering. He keeps brushing his hair back but it always falls back to where it was before. Though his attention is on the two of them, he doesn’t catch the quick, discreet glances Reki makes at him. 

“I’m heading out,” Miya announced eventually. “My mom wanted the van back fifteen minutes ago.”

Reki pouts. “Aw, little kiddo gotta head back home for curfew in his silly little car?”

“Shut the fuck up or my foot is going to go so far up your ass-”

Reki grabs his shoulders and begins to steer the little rat out the door. “Alrighty, see you later kiddo!”

“I’m literally not-” Reki shuts the door before Miya can finish his thought. He chuckles a bit as Miya flips him off, then storms over to the curb to drive home. Once the minivan is out of eyesight, Reki turns back to Langa. 

“Um, I still gotta mop this water up,” Reki explains, “So I’m going to stay a little longer. You’re welcome to keep me company.”

Langa’s face practically lights up. “Okay!”

Reki busies himself with the cleaning supplies to hide the pink on his cheeks. “So, what was it like to grow up in Canada?”

“Cold,” Langa says simply, playing with his jacket sleeve. “But it was nice though. My dad and I loved the snow, like I mentioned earlier, so whenever I was out of school and he was out at work, we would go out.”

“What about your mom?”

Langa smiles warmly at the mention of his mother. “When my dad was at work she would help me work on my Japanese. She also taught me how to cook. I think she’s the only reason I can hold my own in another country.” He laughs a bit at the end. 

Reki listens intently while he mops up the last of the water. “Aww, that’s so sweet. You guys sound like you’re close.”

“We are,” Langa confirms, eyes trained on Reki. “What about you and your family? What was it like growing up with siblings?”

“Oh my god, the house was never quiet!” Reki declares. “I’m the oldest, with three younger sisters. They were always firing at all cylinders. My mom had her hands full.”

Langa rests his head on his palm. “That sounds nice, though. To constantly have people around you that you can rely on.”

Reki closes the door to the small closet that they keep their cleaning supplies in. “I guess. It was just really hectic, since I had to help my mom take care of them. Especially with the twins, they were just toddlers when I was in high school so it was a handful.”

Langa hums in acknowledgement, his eyes drooping slightly. “Here comes the fatigue from the rain.”

Reki pulls out the barstool next to him and sits, mirroring his position. “Yeah.” He glances at the clock on the wall. “I think I’m going to head home. It’s getting late, and it doesn’t look like the rain is stopping soon.”

“Oh, was I keeping you? I’m sorry.”

Reki shakes his head. “No, not at all! I like spending time with you.”

Langa stands, zipping up his puffy black jacket. “I like spending time with you too, Reki. I hope we can do this again sometime.”

Reki nods. Every second he spends with Langa he finds himself liking him more and more. It’s dangerous, but so captivating. “Me too.”

Langa opens the shop door, letting the once muffled sound of rain become a million times clearer. It fills the coffee shop with its gentle sound. “Will I see you at ‘S’ tomorrow, Reki?”

“As long as it doesn’t snow.” It comes out much softer than Reki planned for it to. He doesn’t care. 

With that, Langa is out the door. 

Reki watches him disappear around the street corner, presumably to where his motorcycle is parked. He can’t imagine driving that thing in this weather, but he’s sure Langa will manage. Reki relaxes, messing with his hair and adjusting his headband before doing one final check of everything and locking up. Hopefully his manager won’t say anything about how late he stayed today. With that, he tugs on his raincoat and braces himself for the downpour outside on the way to the subway station. 

The following day, he heads to his classes as usual. The sun is shining in the morning, but it is bitterly cold. Rain is most likely on the way later in the evening. Hopefully it doesn’t rain during “S” that night, it is much too dangerous for racing on the ice. Reki’s always down for a thrill, but not really in the mood for a trip to the ICU. Reki checks his weather app on his way back to his apartment, the subway just as crowded as it usually is. He feels like a thousand eyes are peering over his shoulder at him. He shakes off the weird feeling and focuses on the forecast, which unfortunately details to him in big white letters that it is in fact going to rain, around five pm to be exact. He sighs, about to turn off his phone and drown out the loud sounds of the subway with music when a notification drops down.

 **_langa:_ ** _Did you see the forecast today?_

Reki tries and fails to stop the warm, mushy feeling that spreads from his chest to his stomach. 

**_Reki:_ ** _unfortunately :( looks like we’re going to have to race again another day_

 **_langa:_ ** _Yeah, it sucks. I was really looking forward to seeing you tonight_

The subway teeters to the left as it makes a turn. 

**_Reki:_ ** _me too :(_

 **_Reki:_ ** _well not seeing me i mean seeing you_

Reki is tempted to just throw his phone away at the next station and let the train run it over.

 **_langa:_ ** _Haha. It’s okay, I know what you mean :)_

 **_Reki:_ ** _ok great that was a big fail on my part hahaha_

The urge is undeniable to drop his phone and disappear off the face of the earth.

 **_langa:_ ** _It’s okay, I like your humor. Are you working today?_

 **_Reki:_ ** _nah, i have the day off._

 **_langa:_ ** _Would you accompany me for a walk in the evening then?_

The word “accompany” sticks out. Who talks like that? Except for, like, Prince Charming maybe. Reki swears he’s never seen that word ever used in a text message before. Nevertheless, he can feel the classic butterflies flapping their wings in his stomach. 

**_Reki:_ ** _ofc! what time were you thinking?_

 **_langa:_ ** _Six, as usual? I can meet you at 86th and Central Park West?_

 **_Reki:_ ** _i’ll be there :)_

The train rattles to a stop at Reki’s station. It takes an embarrassing amount of energy for him to not skip off the train. He and Langa are getting closer. This will be the first time they hang out outside of Dope Sketch, and Reki has never looked forward to anything more.

He exits the station and begins the walk to his apartment. With a glance at the cloudy sky, the forecast on his phone seemed right about there being rain later in the evening, though it does state to start around eight, if not later. His time with Langa shouldn’t be affected. Reki enters his apartment and tosses his bag onto his couch, his books hitting each other as they make impact. A quick glance at the time tells him he has about twenty minutes to freshen up. 

Reki stretches his arms above his head and smiles as he starts blasting music from his bluetooth speaker. With luck (and a considerate amount of time picking out a hoodie), Reki will become even closer friends with Langa. 

｡o°✥✤✣ ✣✤✥°o｡

Langa is already at the corner when Reki arrives. His apartment isn’t too far away, but it does take a considerable amount of time to walk, so Reki had grabbed his skateboard. He’d been skating since he was a kid, though he doesn’t get a chance to do it much anymore. Skateboarding had been his first taste of what it was like to be alive before racing had a chance to solidify a place in his heart. Reki still tries to skateboard when he can, though. 

“Hey Reki!” Langa waves as Reki approaches. His black turtleneck and tan coat make him look scholarly. The fancy school is making a lot of sense. 

“Hi Langa!” Reki says with equal enthusiasm. “Good to see you.”

Langa smiles, and Reki just knows the sun is jealous because holy shit, he’s so bright. Langa eyes the skateboard in Reki’s hand. “Brought the infamous skateboard?”

“Yup!” Reki replies, popping the “P”. He shows it off to Langa, though the designs that Reki had once painted on the bottom were now fairly scraped. “My apartment is not too far from here, but I didn’t feel like walking.”

Langa nods, still examining the faint design of neon gears that were once clear on the skateboard. “That’s fair.”

Reki motions to the path that goes into the park. “Shall we?” he says in the most formal voice he can muster. He holds out the hand that isn’t carrying his skateboard jokingly. Needless to say, Reki is absolutely floored when Langa doesn’t hesitate to take his hand. 

“We shall,” Langa replies, starting to walk as if he didn’t just make Reki’s heart skip a beat. With nothing more than that, they begin to stroll into the park. Langa’s grip on Reki’s hand is loose, enough so that Reki could pull away if he wanted to. But he doesn’t. 

They people watch and chat, stopping at a vendor a few yards down to grab some cotton candy. The sky is getting darker, but they don’t notice as they wander aimlessly in the park, lost in conversation. To them, it feels like they have all the time in the world. 

Reki learns a few more things about Langa as they walk, too. He discovers that Langa has both of his ears pierced, one of the only acts of rebellion he made as a teenager. Langa also wants to get a tattoo in the future, though he is unsure of what it should be. His favorite food is poutine, especially if his mom makes it. Langa even offers to take Reki to try it sometime. Though they had let go of each other when grabbing cotton candy, Reki still tenses up every time their fingers brush as they walk. He catches on to every word Langa says intensely. With everything he learns about him, Reki finds his crush growing more and more. 

Reki shares a few anecdotes and facts of his own. He explains how he likes to work with his hands, talking about how he built his skateboard when he was in his final year of high school. He has been drawing for longer than that, whether it be people he saw when going out or just himself in the mirror. Langa chuckles when Reki tells him about the time Reki was caught doodling a girl in his class during middle school. 

“What did she say afterwards?” Langa asks, the two of them stopping in a mostly empty area where there is a circle of cement before the path continues. Langa awaits Reki’s answer eagerly, invested in the story. 

Reki paces back and forth in front of Langa, unable to keep still. “Well, she hit me in the shoulder with her notebook,” Reki spits out. He narrows his eyes at Langa as he stifles laughter. “Don’t laugh! It was a hardcover book, that shit hurt!”

Langa pushes the final strings of cotton candy into his mouth. “So I’m assuming that she didn’t go out with you then?”

Reki shakes his head, now rocking back and forth on his skateboard. “Nah. I think that was fair, though. Thirteen year old Reki was quite unbearable.”

Langa shakes his head and leans against a pillar at the edge of the circle. “I doubt that.”

“Oh, don’t even get me started,” Reki says, now skating around the area on the board as Langa watches in awe. “I was a handful for my mom.”

Reki does an ollie, not thinking much of it. It’s probably the sugar in his system that isn’t letting him sit still. It doesn’t help that his board is readily available for him to mess with. He doesn’t notice how intently Langa is watching him, or how Langa didn’t reply or add to Reki’s last statement. It’s only when Reki notices the odd silence between them that hasn’t been present all day that he looks up at Langa only to see him gawking at the board. 

“You’re really good,” blurts out Langa. His eyes flicker between Reki’s confused look and the skateboard he is standing on. “That was incredible!”

Reki follows his glances, completely caught off guard. “What? I’m just going around in circles, dude.”

Langa shakes his head, his silky hair shining with the motion. “Well yes, but you look amazing when you skate.”

Reki has no idea what to make of that.

Langa appears to struggle to get the words out. “What I mean is that your motions are so fluid. It looks like you do this as easily as walking, or something. Like it’s in your blood.”

Reki is taken aback by his observation. “Really? If anything, I thought I was a little rusty.” Reki stares at his shoes as they adjust their position on the board, trying to see what Langa sees. He is wildly unsuccessful.

Langa lifts his weight from the pillar, taking long strides towards Reki. When Langa stands in front of him, Reki quickly notices that Langa is just barely taller than him, maybe by about two inches. Reki has to remind himself to breathe as Langa looks him up and down, noting Reki’s steady stance on the board and the casual way he is holding his body. 

“You treat the board like it’s a part of you,” chronicles Langa. “It’s like an extension of your body. You don’t treat it as a skateboard, but as an extension of yourself.” He pauses. “I think you race the same way, too. I haven’t seen you drive before but I can just feel it. You have the same mindset when you’re making coffee, oddly enough. You just become who you want to be when you’re doing something you love, using whatever tools are available to you in order to soar. I really admire that.”

Now, Reki is not prepared for all of _that_ to come spilling from Langa’s lips. He had no idea that Langa had watched him so keenly that he noticed how Reki can sometimes lose himself in things. No one has ever noticed that before, actually. Maybe not even Reki. Langa looks up at him sheepishly as Reki struggles to muster up a proper reply to the pure poetry that Langa just unleashed.

Reki clears his throat. “I, um. Thank you, Langa. That’s really kind of you,” responds Reki rather lamely. Langa doesn’t seem to mind though, completely beaming. Suddenly, Reki gets an idea.

“Do you want me to teach you?”

Langa’s expression gets impossibly brighter. “Really? You’d teach me?”

“Right here, right now if you’d like. It’s easy!” 

Langa nods, his delight at the idea almost childlike. Reki steps off of the board, leaving it in between the two of them. This time, he holds out his hand. “Okay, take my hand. I’ll help you keep your balance as you step onto it.”

Without hesitation, Langa places his hand into Reki’s. He holds on tightly as he steps onto the board, his stance a little shaky as he struggles to maintain his balance. Reki, however, manages to hold him steady. Reki notes that Langa’s hands are surprisingly gentle on him, despite their grip. He didn’t notice earlier, probably due to his nerves, but his palms are smooth and soft. Reki decides to file that away for later as Langa nearly slides off while adjusting his stance. 

Reki catches him and helps him regain his balance, though now both of Langa’s hands are holding on to both of Reki’s. Langa is standing on the board, though Reki knows if he lets go Langa will come crashing to the ground. Reki smiles up at him, only to see Langa was already doing the same. 

Langa laughs breathlessly, looking from his feet as they stand on the board back up to Reki. “I did it! I’m doing it, Reki!”

“Hell yeah, you are!” Reki encourages. “I don’t think I can let go though just yet.”

“Yes, please don’t,” Langa confirms. He shifts slightly and nearly falls again. “I don’t know how you balance on this thing. I thought it would be like snowboarding, since they are built similarly, but this is totally different.”

“I mean, it has wheels.”

Langa rolls his eyes. “Well, besides the obvious.” He grips Reki’s hands a little tighter. “How am I supposed to move?”

Reki giggles. “No, I don’t think you’re there just yet. How about we get you to balance on this thing first, then I can teach you how to push forward.”

Langa pouts, but his grin returns when he adjusts for the last time and finds the “sweet spot” that lets him stand upright. Reki can feel it when Langa isn’t depending on him to stay balanced anymore, carefully loosening his grip on Langa’s hands until he is confident Langa won’t fall. He stands fully upright on the board, Reki beaming with pride as Langa silently celebrates his victory.

“Okay, I think I got balance down!” Langa announces. “Now will you teach me how to move?”

Reki takes Langa’s hands again to make sure his victory doesn’t end with a scrape on the chin. “Alright, but I’m going to hold on to you, okay? I don’t want you to fall.”

“Falling is a part of learning,” Langa replies. “But I’ll hold on to you if I can avoid it.”

Langa puts his foot down on the ground. “I just push off right?” He looks to Reki for confirmation. Reki nods. 

“Just push forward! Don’t push too much, but I’ll hold onto your hand and help you forward. This part is easy, you just need to keep up the balance that you had earlier and then push forward with your foot before bringing it back onto the board. Just do one push for now, just so you can get a feel for it.”

Langa nods along to his words, clearly itching to start pushing forward. Once Reki finishes speaking, he puts his weight onto the foot that’s on the ground and pushes off just as Reki instructed. But unlike how Reki instructed, he isn’t able to keep his balance. The board falls away from underneath him. Langa leans forward when it does, crashing into Reki and sending them both toppling to the ground. 

“Shit!” Reki curses as he hits the ground. He looks down at Langa who is holding himself up by his arms directly above Reki. 

“I don’t think keeping balance on a moving skateboard is easy, Reki.”

Reki holds his gaze for a few moments longer before bursting out laughing. It’s contagious, not even a second passing before Langa joins him. They laugh and laugh and laugh until Langa isn’t able to hold himself up any longer. He rolls to the side, laying down next to Reki on the cement to continue laughing. Reki turns his head to face him as their stomachs start to hurt, mentally filing away the view of Langa’s blue hair fanning out around him along with the red flush in his cheeks. It’ll make an excellent addition to his sketchbook later. 

They start to settle down a few minutes later, getting in their last gasps of air before they calm back down again. Reki still feels just as hyper as he did before, but for some reason he feels like he can control the feeling this time, as if it isn’t as overpowering as it usually is. Langa, on the other hand, breathes in and out steady breaths. He seems content. 

“Hey Reki?”

“Yeah?”

“We are laying on the ground in New York City.”

The gravity of the situation hits Reki. “Oh fuck!”

Reki hops onto his feet with incredible speed. Embarrassingly for him, he forgot that they were in fact in Central Park and that there is literally nothing sanitary (or not radioactive) about any public surface in the city. He reaches down to help Langa up, to which Langa accepts with gratitude. 

“That was gross,” Langa says, shaking out his hair to ensure there aren’t any miniscule pebbles or leaves in it. 

“Agreed,” Reki replies. “Are you hurt?”

Langa looks at his palms. They have a little dirt on them but the skin didn’t break. He rubs them together, the streaks of dirt falling to the floor. “Nope. Just dirt.”

Reki hums, grabbing his skateboard. “Maybe we try this somewhere better next time?”

Langa tilts his head. “Next time? You’d be willing to show me again?”

Oops. Reki had automatically assumed that Langa would want to do this all again. He moved a bit too fast there, but it seems like Langa is for it too, so the situation isn’t as bad as he thinks it is. At least he hopes it isn’t. “Yeah, of course,” Reki says smoothly. “This was fun.”

Langa contemplates that for a moment. “Okay! Thanks.”

Reki nods. He realizes that Langa hadn’t moved from how close he was from before the fall. They were so close that Reki notices the eyelash that had fallen from Langa’s eye to his cheek. He reaches out to push it away when a drop of water falls onto his hand. Then another. And another. Both of the boys turn their attention to the sky as fat raindrops being their assault on Manhattan. They didn’t notice the sky darken when they started skateboarding, or how the few lingering people who were in the small courtyard had cleared out minutes ago. 

Neither move. Instead, Langa holds out his hand to let a few drops of water gather into his palm before rotating his hand and letting the microscopic pool join the rest of the water on the ground. 

“I like the rain,” Langa discloses. “That’s why I didn’t bring a raincoat today. I love it when it rains and I can touch it. It’s refreshing, I guess. I don’t know how else to explain it.” He’s still as close as he was before, Reki notices. Now he can even pinpoint the water droplets gathering on the ends of his hair. 

“Me too,” responds Reki without hesitation. “It’s nice, most of the time. I just don’t like being caught in it without shelter when I have somewhere to be.” 

Langa hums, his blue eyes meeting Reki’s brown ones. Reki thinks they are glowing at first, with how brightly colored they are. He wishes his eyes were such a rarity as his. Reki could study the color and sheen of Langa’s eyes forever and never get tired of it. They’re mesmerizing. Their fingers brush again. This time, Langa latches their pinkies together. Reki holds his breath as Langa leans in a little closer.

“Hey, Reki?” Langa breathes. “What I wanted to ask earlier, I was wondering-”

“Hasegawa?”

Reki has never jumped so far in so little time. It feels like someone yanked him back and he ended up on the other end of the courtyard. Langa jumps the same way, also standing opposite of Reki. In the middle stands a man with a large black umbrella and wearing a crisp navy blue suit. His hair is slicked back, his mouth pressed in a tense line. His overall appearance is intimidating. Reki looks from him to Langa to make sure that he knows him, a little worried that this is some creep. The annoyed expression on Langa’s face confirms that he does in fact know him, and is pretty pissed that he showed up when he did.

“Ainosuke,” Langa says, clearly fed up. “What are you doing here?”

The man, Ainosuke, approaches Langa. He completely ignores the fact that Reki is even there. The umbrella moves from covering just him to also covering Langa. 

“I was going to ask you the same thing. You know your father would hate for you to be out here in the cold like this. Besides, I’m glad I ran into you. I ordered dinner for us, and I’ve been texting you.” Ainosuke’s voice is calm, but it’s easy to tell that his underlying tone is something more dangerous. “Why haven’t you been checking your phone?”

“I’ve been busy,” Langa retorts. “I’ll head home in a moment.”

Ainosuke finally turns his attention on Reki. “And he is? I don’t think you introduced yourself.” 

Reki looks at him warily. There is something about Ainosuke that he can’t put his finger on. Whatever it is, it sends chills down his spine, but Reki holds out his hand for him to take anyway. Ainosuke shakes it. 

“My name’s Reki. I’m a friend of Langa’s.”

Ainosuke’s lips curl. “Oh! I didn’t know that. Langa, why haven’t you told me about him? I would have loved to hear about him.”

Langa is the tensest Reki has ever seen him, his hands stuffed into his coat pockets, no doubt that his fists are clenched too. Reki isn’t sure what to make of the situation. This has to be the family friend that Langa mentioned was looking out for him, right? But if that’s the case, why is he so nervously looking from Ainosuke to Reki?

“Sorry, Ainosuke. I didn’t think you’d want to know.” His voice is steady and calm. The contrast is something that confuses Reki. How is he so tense on the outside but so calm on the inside?

Ainosuke hums in acknowledgement. “Alright then. Are you ready to head home?”

Langa, much to Reki’s surprise, doesn’t try to argue back. “Yes. Let me just say goodbye to Reki first.”

He walks out from under the umbrella and gives Reki a loose hug. Reki hugs back awkwardly, unsure of what else to do in the situation. Langa lets go nearly as quickly as he grabbed on. 

“See you later, Reki,” Langa says. He gives Reki a small smile, an indicator that everything is alright. Reki smiles back and lifts his hand to give Langa a small wave. Langa returns it before jogging a little to catch up with an already leaving Ainosuke. Reki watches them disappear down the path he and Langa once came, the rain still coming down as hard as it was before. 

Reki gets left in the rain pretty often. He doesn’t mind awfully though, if it’s for Langa.

By the time Reki makes it back to his apartment, he isn’t sure that he needs to shower. The downpour did a pretty good job. He grabs a hair tie from his counter and puts his hair up, water dribbling down the back of his neck. He winces at the cold and starts to change his shirt, before realizing that he hadn’t checked his phone while he was with Langa. Reki fumbles for it, the white light from the screen illuminating his shocked face. There were so many missed calls from both Miya and Cherry, along with texts. 

Reki starts to panic as he scrolls through the many voicemails, hands shaking as he tries to find the reason behind the desperate need for contact. A text appears on the screen that breaks him. 

**_cherry:_ ** _Joe is in the hospital. There was an accident._

The rain drops hide the tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...yeah :)  
> i hope you enjoyed this chapter !! i have been suffering severe renga brainrot because of episode 8. i am PRAYING episode 9 doesn't disapoint. everything's going to pick up from here, we are finally getting into the Plot. 
> 
> thanks for reading! comments, kudos, and shares are appreciated <3
> 
> twitter: @geckointhetrash

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god this was so tedious to write, i have no idea why though. but this is going to be one of my next big multichapter fics! i decided to combine a bunch of au's into one story, so i hope you guys like how this turns out! we're in here for the long run :) also yes, the title and all the chapters are inspired by taylor swift's song "love story". i think it just fits them especially well now that we know about the audio drama that's coming with the dvds in march LMAO
> 
> twitter: @geckointhetrash


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